we better sign kyoto

Thank God Rudd's first act if elected is to sign up for Kyoto - it's obviously working:)

The Australian
Matthew Warren, Environment writer | November 21, 2007

"Greenhouse gas emissions from the world's industrialised countries are again on the rise and closing in on record levels, despite most having signed the Kyoto Protocol.

UN figures released last night - just weeks ahead of a key meeting to start brokering a new global deal to cut emissions - show greenhouse gases from Kyoto's 41 industrialised and transition countries approaching "an all-time high".

Emissions fell between 1990 and 2000 but they rose 2.6 per cent between 2000 and 2005, for when the latest figures are available.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change said the increase was driven by continued growth in the world's highly industrialised countries and the accelerating economies of the former Soviet bloc nations, led by a big increase in emissions from transport.

The figures show Australia's greenhouse emissions in 2005 were about 25.6 per cent above 1990 levels, although the figure falls to a rise of 4.5 per cent when the effect of bans on land-clearing is included.

This puts Australia on track to meet its generous Kyoto target of an 8 per cent increase on 1990 levels by 2012. "